In September, during the 2021 Service World Expo in Louisville, Ky., three giants of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry were inducted into the Contracting Business HVAC Hall of Fame.
They are: Kenneth D. Goodrich, John LaPlant, and Ben Stark.
KENNETH D. GOODRICH
Ken Goodrich, CEO of Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing, is a seasoned entrepreneurial executive and co-author of The EMyth HVAC Contractor, Why Most HVAC Companies Don’t Work and What to do About it, written with Michael E. Gerber, a best-selling author. Goodrich has more than 30 years’ experience in acquiring,
integrating, and developing HVAC, plumbing, and contracting businesses. Goettl, established in 1939, operates nine branch operations throughout Nevada, Arizona, California, and Texas.
Ken Goodrich started in the HVAC business as a boy, holding the flashlight for his father – J. Duncan Goodrich – on late night calls. Today, he is focused on developing high-performance leadership teams with an emphasis on growth, process improvement, customer satisfaction and accountability for performance. He has acquired, built, and monetized twenty-four HVAC and Plumbing companies throughout his career. His motto is, “We do things the right way, not the easy way.”
At Goettl, Goodrich has implemented industry revolutionizing innovations that have evolved standard operating processes for the industry, resulting in a 15-fold growth since taking leadership and the resurrection of the iconic brand.
Ken Goodrich has a passion for growing others. His donations helped create the College of Southern Nevada’s new Air Conditioning Center of Excellence & Dual Enrollment Academy. He sponsored the J. Duncan Goodrich Air Conditioning Technology Lab at the Center, which is named after his father, and he presents his company’s annual "Post 9/11 Veterans Tools Scholarship Award" to help jumpstart students’ careers in the HVAC industry. Under his leadership the ‘Goettl Academy’, a technical and life skills training program, was established.
JOHN LAPLANT
John LaPlant has worked in the HVAC and plumbing contracting industry for over 50 years. After graduating with a Master's Degree from the
University of Iowa, he worked in a number of positions with Lennox Industries: director of quality, director of technical training, territory sales manager and director of strategic planning.
In 1995, John and his wife, Vicki -- herself a renowned consultant and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee -- co-founded Vital Learning Experiences, to provide training and consulting with contractors to make them profitable and successful.
After 20 years of owning a consulting and training company specifically focused on the contracting industry, Vicki and John joined Service Nation in 2016 as business coaches and trainers. The ideas and tools that John and Vicki have shared are practical and easily applied in the real world of contracting.
John LaPlant received the distinguished Servant Leader award from Service Roundtable in 2012.
We open the Hall of Fame doors for John, for his lifetime of dedicated service to heating and air conditioning business consulting, for 50-years of service to the HVAC and plumbing industries, for service as co-owner of Vital Learning Experiences; as a business coach and mentor for Service Nation, as a board member of the Joseph Groh foundation, which helps HVAC professionals who have suffered career-ending injuries.
BEN STARK
Ben Stark started in the HVAC industry in 1978, working as a service technician while attending college in Dallas. In 1986, Ben started Stark Heat and Air, which he sold to Service Experts in 1997. In May of 2000, he opened the doors of DFW Comfort Experts, doing business as Stark Air, a new startup company providing residential service, maintenance, replacement, and indoor air services. By 2011, Stark Air’s annual revenue was over $6.5 million, with 50 employees. Stark Air was successfully sold in May of 2012.
Ben helped create Service Nation Alliance and worked for the Service Roundtable group from September 2012 through May of 2013, and served as business onsultant for Service Nation Alliance for over six years. Some of Ben’s industry accomplishments include serving on the board of directors and president for ACCA North Texas in 1995 and 1996. Ben served on the ACCA Texas board from 2003 to 2012. Stark Service Company was a founding member of Service Nation Alliance, AirTime 500, and Contractor Success Group.
Ben started Outlook LLC and Outlook Texas L.P. (holding companies), and Stark Dedicated Service LLC dba Sunny Service. He has opened a new training company called ‘Growth and Profit Systems’ to pass on the systems and knowledge he has gained over the years to help contractors succeed and grow their HVAC business.
Ben offers consulting through GoTime University on topics that include business leader development, train the trainer, company evaluations, manager development and more.
Ben and Chris Hunter founded the training company, Go Time Success Group, and they are co-author's of "It's Go-Time," with David Rothacker.